“I saw Patsy go up that staircase about ten minutes ago,” Henry said when he overheard the children talking. “There’s another locker room on the second floor.”

  Soo Lee and Benny raced up the stairs with Jessie and Henry following right behind.

  The halls leading to the locker room were dark. But Jessie knew the way. She pushed open the door and searched for the light switch. But she couldn’t find it. The children followed her into the darkened room.

  The Aldens were not alone. They stood still. There was just enough light to see someone standing in front of a large wall mirror — someone holding a tall, silver trophy!

  “Patsy!” Jessie cried out.

  Patsy jumped when she saw the Aldens’ reflection. She quickly put the trophy under one of the benches.

  “Where did you find that?” Violet asked.

  Patsy didn’t answer.

  “We’ve been searching for that ever since it disappeared,” Henry said.

  “I’m the one who took it from the trunk of the twins’ car after I saw Buzz put it there,” Patsy told Henry.

  “Why?” Jessie asked, her voice shaking.

  Patsy took a deep breath. “I just wanted to have it overnight — without anyone around. I tried to get it back to your room, Jessie. But you kept following me.”

  Jessie picked up the trophy from under the bench.

  “I saw Tipper on television when she won it last month,” Patsy continued. “I couldn’t believe she was actually in Greenfield coaching our team. I thought if I borrowed her trophy, some of her talent might rub off on me. I want to be a great player like her — and Courtney, too.”

  “Why didn’t you tell her?” Soo Lee asked.

  Patsy went on, “I tried to get it back to her, but it was never the right time. Then, when our team won the league trophy, I felt worse. Tipper helped us win it, and I had taken hers. So I sent her the note and planned to bring it back today without getting caught.”

  “Well, here it is!” Jessie said. “We’d better bring it to the gym right away. Tipper would be pretty embarrassed if the mayor called her to the gym floor and she was empty-handed. You can tell her the whole story later.”

  Soo Lee forgot all about brushing her hair. Benny forgot about the curl that wouldn’t behave. None of it mattered.

  When the Aldens walked into the gym with Patsy they held up the trophy so Tipper could see it. The spotlights made the silver reflect all over the gym. Tipper gave Patsy and the Aldens a thumbs-up sign.

  When Patsy and the Aldens entered the gym, the band was playing the Greenfield High School fight song. Cheerleaders were tumbling and doing somersaults in front of the crowd.

  The mayor tapped the microphone, which made a horrible scratchy sound. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the mayor said, “may I present Tipper Nettleton, the Most Valuable Player in the country. She will now donate her trophy to our new sports center.”

  Jessie handed Benny the trophy. “Go ahead. Take it down to her.”

  Benny ran down to the gym floor. He held up the trophy. The mayor gave him the microphone. In a voice just like the mayor’s, Benny said, “May I present Tipper Nettleton with the most valuable trophy that was ever missing.”

  All of the Aldens laughed, and the whole audience joined in. Benny laughed harder than anyone.

  About the Author

  GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

  Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car — the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

  When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

  While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible — something else that delights young readers.

  Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

  The Boxcar Children Mysteries

  THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

  SURPRISE ISLAND

  THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

  MYSTERY RANCH

  MIKE’S MYSTERY

  BLUE BAY MYSTERY

  THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

  THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

  MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

  SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

  CABOOSE MYSTERY

  HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

  SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

  TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

  BICYCLE MYSTERY

  MYSTERY IN THE SAND

  MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

  BUS STATION MYSTERY

  BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

  THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

  THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

  THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

  THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN PAINTING

  THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

  THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY GIRL

  THE MYSTERY CRUISE

  THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

  MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

  THE PIZZA MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY HORSE

  THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

  THE CASTLE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

  THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

  THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

  THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

  THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

  THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

  THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

  THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

  THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT AIR BALLOON

  THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

  THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN BOXCAR

  THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

  THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

  THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

  THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

  THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

  THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

  THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

  THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

  THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

  THE SOCCER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

  THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

  THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

  THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

  THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

  THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

  THE PANTHER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

  THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

  THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

  THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

  THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

  THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

 
THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

  THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

  THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

  THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

  THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

  THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER GAME

  THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED HOUSE

  THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

  THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

  THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

  THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

  THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD MOUNTAIN

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

  THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S CURSE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

  THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

  THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

  THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

  THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

  THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

  THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

  THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE COOKIE

  THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

  THE RADIO MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY GHOST

  THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED BOXCAR

  THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

  THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING BONES

  THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

  THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

  THE VANISHING PASSENGER

  THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

  THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

  THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

  THE SECRET OF THE MASK

  THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

  THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

  THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

  A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

  THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

  THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING TOMATOES

  THE SPY GAME

  THE DOG-GONE MYSTERY

  THE VAMPIRE MYSTERY

  SUPERSTAR WATCH

  THE SPY IN THE BLEACHERS

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  copyright © 1996 by Albert Whitman & Company

  978-1-4532-1419-0

  This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

  180 Varick Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

 


 

  Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Basketball Mystery

 


 

 
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